The Volkswagen Beetle hasn't stolen the limelight in some time, but its appeal could soon be in for a sweet kick in the pants. Rumors are.

In accord with the newly enacted US Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard , North American models received a dual-circuit brake system, the clear glass headlamp covers were deleted; the headlamps were brought forward to the leading edge of the front fenders, and the sealed-beam units were exposed and surrounded by chrome bezels. To start App-Connect Always pay careful attention to the road, and do not drive while distracted. The last Australian-assembled Beetle was produced in July with assembly of other models ending in February Mid-year, the Love Bug was introduced for North America:

VW Might Make A New Beetle After All, But It Could Be A 4-Door EV | Carscoops

The need for a people's car Volkswagen in German , its concept and its functional objectives were formulated by the leader of Nazi Germany , Adolf Hitler , who wanted a cheap, simple car to be mass-produced for his country's new road network. Lead engineer Ferdinand Porsche and his team took until to finalise the design. The influence on Porsche's design of other contemporary cars, such as the Tatra V , and the work of Josef Ganz remains a subject of dispute.

With 21,, produced, [16] the Beetle is the longest-running and most-manufactured car of a single platform ever made. Although designed in the s, the Beetle was only produced in significant numbers starting from non-military mass production had been put on hold during the Second World War , when the model was internally designated the Volkswagen Type 1, and marketed simply as the Volkswagen or "People's Car".

Later models were designated Volkswagen , , , , or , the former three indicating engine displacement , the latter two derived from the type number.

For example, in France it was known as the Coccinelle French for ladybug. The Beetle ultimately gave rise to variants, including the Karmann Ghia , Type 2 , and external coach builders. The Beetle marked a significant trend, led by Volkswagen, Fiat , and Renault , whereby the rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout increased from 2.

In , Volkswagen's own front-wheel drive Golf model succeeded the Beetle. In , Volkswagen unveiled the Concept One , a "retro"-themed concept car with a resemblance to the original Beetle, and in introduced the " New Beetle ", built on the contemporary Golf platform with styling recalling the original Type 1. It remained in production through , and was succeeded in by the more aggressively styled Beetle A5 , which was also more reminiscent of the original Beetle.

Although the Volkswagen was mainly the brainchild of Ferdinand Porsche and Adolf Hitler, [21] the idea is much older than Nazism, and existed since mass-production of cars was introduced.

In April , Hitler gave the order to Porsche to develop a Volkswagen. Everything had to be designed to ensure parts could be quickly and inexpensively exchanged.

The engine had to be air-cooled because, as Hitler explained, not every country doctor had his own garage. Ethylene glycol antifreeze was only just beginning to be used in high-performance liquid-cooled aircraft engines. In general, water in radiators would freeze unless the vehicle was kept in a heated building overnight or drained and refilled each morning.

The "People's Car" would be available to citizens of Germany through a savings scheme, or Sparkarte savings booklet , [24] at Reichsmark , about the price of a small motorcycle. The average weekly income was then around 32 RM. In three prototypes were running; [26] all were lost during World War II , the last in a bombing raid in Stuttgart in The Type 32 was similar in design to the Type 12, but it had a flat-four engine.